Two of the ball-tampering trio—Steve Smith and David Warner had been cleared to play grade cricket, but Cameron Bancroft needed an exemption to play for his club in Perth.

All three cricketers were involved in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal in March this year. Bancroft, who carried out the task of tampering the ball was handed a 9-month suspension while both the leaders of the team were banned from international cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia.

Smith and Warner lost their IPL deal and also the captaincy of their respective IPL sides while Bancroft’s county deal was torn up following the three players’ involvement in the ball-tampering saga.

The Western Australia District Cricket Council rules state that players suspended by the WACA, their club association or CA are automatically disqualified from participation in WADCC Competitions for the duration of that suspension. But the WADCC has opted to apply CA’s sanctions which explicitly allows the banned players to play premier cricket.

Smith will represent Sydney team Sutherland and Warner will play for Randwick-Petersham. Bancroft, on the other hand, will feature in the Willetton Club, where he has been playing since his U-19 days.

“We’re moving to ask if (the WACA DCC) would be prepared, for his wellbeing, to grant an exception," Willetton president Ron Kukura had said on May 10. “We’re doing everything we can to get him to play. We want him to play cricket with our club and he wishes to play.”